Where does education fit into all the "days" this week?

Busy week, eh? 

Equal Pay Day, Ides of March, Pi Day, St. Patrick's Day-- no wonder it feels like someone stuffed a few extra days in there. Locally, for the town I teach in, it's been Town Meeting Day, School Meeting Day, and today is Open House. Why we've managed to pack so much into one week in March is beyond me. 

Of all of these, there are a couple that are more deeply meaningful to most folks. I have not yet heard how the school meeting went last night; that's always a little angsty and stressful. Many of the costs of running a school are literally not within our control; line items related to federal and state mandates are not negotiable. Fuel costs and maintenance costs are influenced by outside factors. Our teachers are relatively reasonably compensated for our efforts, but we really do not have any "extra" staff: for example, in the high school, two of us are part-time English teachers. Small schools are struggling, to be sure, but we are doing our best. I've haunted yard sales and library book sales for years in order to make sure we have enough copies of books on the shelves. My yearly budget for books and supplies caps out around $400.00/year. I try to be frugal, knowing that some other costs are off the charts, like the cost for busing. 

Students want to know why we don't go on more field trips, but when the cost of a bus to go 12 miles and back is approximately 450.00, that should be the answer. Yes, I know fuel costs and maintenance of the buses is high, but gee whiz, that's a lot. Gone are the days we could ask parents to drive us; most folks are working and can't take the time off. I can't blame them for that, to be sure. 

So, we do our best. And virtual "field trips" over the internet are increasingly helpful, but they don't take the place of going and seeing and doing. There's no immediate solution to this, that I can think of anyhow. Having guest speakers come in to school is a really good option, but many of them are a bit expensive too; again, I can't blame them, as this is how some of them make their living. But again, affording a guest speaker is usually more than we can swing-- one day-long residency often costs more than my entire year's budget. 

People wonder why we don't have more "learning experiences" outside of the classroom, but I suspect few know what the actual costs look like. We are blessed at my school to have an in-house fund that takes the burden off for many of the "extras" for our kids, and I am truly grateful. But that money, like all funding, is finite and requires an application process. I've never been refused, but again, I try to be reasonable in my requests. I have not requested any funding this year, knowing that there are other projects and trips that my students will benefit from, that serve a wider audience than just my classes. The entire high school, for example, is going to attend a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in May. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are all looking forward to going--it's something different for them. 

Education in our country is under attack in so many ways, it's hard to know what is okay to do, say, read, watch, etc. Instead of being a joyful time for all of us, there are pitfalls everywhere, it seems. Why make it harder by not doing interesting, enriching things to liven things up--before we can't? 

Take care,

C